This invention relates to a heat exchanging pipe system, a preferred use therefor being the melting of snow on roadways or other outdoor structures.
Recently, a method of melting and removing snow which has fallen on roads or building structures comprises embedding a heat exchanging pipe system within a structure near the snow receiving surface thereof and pumping heated water through the pipe system to melt the snow. In a preferred application, underground water is pumped up from one well, passed through the pipe system, and pumped into an adjacent well where the cooled water is eventually reheated.
In known heat exchanging pipe system, the water flows in a single direction from one end of the heat exchanger to the other.
A problem with this is that the water near the water outlet end of the heat exchanger is cooler than the incoming water, and the snow melting capacity of the heat exchanger is considerably less near its water outlet end than at its water inlet end. Under various circumstances, e.g., an exceptionally heavy snow fall, the snow overlying the water inlet end of the heat exchanger is properly melted while the snow overlying the water outlet end is not properly melted. This, of course, is undesirable as not fully fulfilling the purpose of the heat exchanger.